Can lion scent marks be used in identification on either a species, sex or individual level?
Out of the 55 (81) chemical compounds identified in this study from the lion samples, seven were almost universally present and it is therefore possible that some or all of these compounds could carry a message of species identity individually or in combination. The seven compounds are listed in the paragraph above. Great care has to be taken, however, when such conclusions are drawn. An example of this was shown by Brahmachary and Dutta (1979), who, after having identified phenylethylamine (PEA) repeatedly in tiger urine samples, stated that `PEA is likely to be a biochemical marker at the species level’. The same authors later found PEA to be present in leopard urine as well (Brahmachary and Dutta, 1984) and since these two species occurs sympatrically it is impossible for PEA alone to act as a marker on the species level. Of the compounds identified in only male lion samples, none was present in all the males, and it is therefore uncertain whether one or more of these compounds carr
